A/N: Whilst I am kind of sorry that you're feeling tortured and pained over the non-kissage, I can promise that if you keep on reading it will happen and soon ;-) Thanx for the feedback!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 11

"Hey, Veronica!" Mac called to her friend as they passed each other in the hall, "Are you...?" she began, only to be interrupted by the blonde who carried on walking when she did not.

"Sorry, Mac, can't stop right now" Veronica apologised as she continued on, "Life of a parrot depends on me" she said, before she was gone from sight, leaving Mac to wonder what on Earth she'd meant by that.

"Parrot?" she echoed with a frown as she turned back around to see where she was going.

The computer lab seemed like a good place to sit and think, though Mac had done enough of that this past weekend, she wasn't sure how many more ways she could go over it all in her head. The 'all' on her mind was of course Dick Casablancas and the weird evening he and Mac had spent together on Friday. Whilst the buzz at Neptune High mostly revolved around the 80s dance, the only thing on Mac's mind was a night in with the most unlikely guy, who had run out on her after what could only be described as an almost-kiss.

There in lie the real weirdness, Mac observed, as she walked into the empty computer room and sat herself down at a station. She hadn't really thought about Dick in that way, not seriously. She knew he was considered popular in school, he was an 09er after all, rich and good-looking enough to get any girl he wanted, she suspected. Of course, she knew he'd had trouble keeping hold of Madison Sinclair, but hey, who the hell would want to keep her anyway?

Whether or not Dick wanted to get a hold of Mac in any way at all, she couldn't be sure, but it hardly added up if he did. They'd come close to being close and the next thing she knew he was gone without a word. All weekend she'd waited for a call or something, a message telling her what had happened and an apology for bolting the way he had - none had come. What bugged Mac most, she suspected, was that she'd actually thought she and Dick were friends now, as much as an 09er and a geek ever could be anyway. They talked, they hung out, he made her laugh, she helped him with his math, it was a nice little arrangement and she'd been enjoying his company. Mac wouldn't say she was entirely comfortable in the company of Dick Casablancas, but she wasn't exactly uncomfortable either. In fact, she'd almost forgotten how odd their situation was, until they'd landed on her bedroom carpet in a pile of limbs, his body hovering right above her own, his breath in her face, the anticipation of a perfect moment making her shiver deep inside.

"I didn't want him to kiss me" she muttered to herself for perhaps the hundredth time as she went over it in her head once again, logging into the computer at the same time.

Immediately she was forced to mentally slap herself for the lie. A part of her had wanted the kiss she was expecting, though even Mac wasn't sure why. She honestly hadn't thought about it til then, hadn't really considered Dick wanting to date her or anything. They were tutor/tutee, maybe friends behind closed doors only, definitely not a potential couple, that was insane!

"Is it insane?" she asked the computer screen, but the only response was the cursor flashing at the top of a blank page that ought to contain an essay, or at the very least the start of one!

It was some kind of weird irony, Mac was sure of it, that she was being employed to tutor Dick in English, Math, and all, and yet her own work was now suffering from the lack of concentration brought on by spending time with the 09er dude! A part of Mac wished she'd never offered to tutor him in the first place, and certainly thought it would have been sensible to keep Dick at arms length at the very least. Still, it was too late for that now, too late for wishing things were not the way they were, and even if she could go back and change the situation, Mac wasn't entirely sure she would. It was nice having a friend like Dick, it was different and fun hanging out and playing computer games, talking about random stuff with the last guy she would ever expect to have things in common with. Veronica saw a spark between them, well, she seemed to think that anyway. It might just be a friendly joke but the more Mac thought on it, the more it freaked her out. Dick couldn't find her attractive, that would be insanity in the highest degree. He hung around with 09ers, dated people like Madison Sinclair and other blonde bimbo types that were loved for their money and what they kept in their sweater! Mac was appreciated by friends and acquaintances for her computer skills and being a good friend, at least she liked to think so.

"Concentrate" the brunette told herself sternly then, as she placed her hands on the computer keyboard and started her essay.

In between paragraphs she managed to convince herself that all this stupid thinking about Dick and trying to define their relationship was just beyond insane. It wasn't doing her any good, and at the end of the day he probably felt as awkward about Friday night as she did. It was best if they just forgot about it, and Mac made that decision for the both of them as she hammered away on the computer keyboard until the period was almost over, quite proud of herself to have almost completed her assignment when the bell was due to ring.

With a smile, she saved the document and logged out of the computer, moving to gather up her things just as her cell buzzed in her pocket. Reaching for her phone, Mac tried to push away the mixture of excitement and worry that arose the moment she saw Dick's name on the display. Taking a deep breath, Mac opened up the text message, unable to resist a smile at his turn of phrase and over-use of texting abbreviations. The gist of the message was that he needed study help tonight, which ought to be easy to answer, but Mac's thumb hovered over the keypad for a long moment as she thought about it.

Being Dick's tutor still made sense, from a cash point of view as well as from the angle of them being friends these days. It would be wrong to let him down now, just when they were doing so well, and clearly the oddness of Friday night hadn't bothered Dick at all. Still, he was the one that ran out on her, and that bothered Mac. She did still want an explanation for his rude behaviour, though a part of her dreaded what his reasons might be. It couldn't be anything too awful, or surely he wouldn't be asking her to continue on as his tutor? There were plenty of other people in school he could employ instead...

Pulling herself together and shaking her head at her own silly behaviour, Mac's thumb criss-crossed the keypad of her cell, quickly telling Dick she would see him tonight, same time, same place. Within moments another reply came, just a 'cool' with a smiley face beside it. That made Mac grin in spite of herself. Dick was such an idiot, but for the most part a decent and nice idiot who had been totally sweet to her lately. At least if she went over to his house tonight she would have the chance to ask him where he ran off to Friday night... if she could get up the nerve to actually ask him!

* * * * *

Dick may have seemed normal to Mac when she arrived at Chez Casablancas and sat down to begin teaching him the next chapter in his Math textbook. To her, he would seem his usual chirpy, silly, charming self, Dick had no doubt, but he didn't feel that way at all. Friday night had been such a screw up, from all angles, leading him to getting a little wasted when he arrived home, and spending much of the weekend either drunk or suffering the effects of it.

Women were built to make men crazy, that's what Dick had always believed, and that had been confirmed by his father, his friends, and pretty much any other guy he talked to about the subject ever. He'd figured Mac was different to all other women, which she was in many ways, but she still had that same ability as all the rest, to make him feel totally stupid and out of his depth with every smile.

Friday night was not his finest hour, Dick knew that. At the very least he ought to have made up some excuse for leaving and not just bolted whilst Mac was in her brother's room. Unfortunately, confrontation wasn't really Dick's thing. He was a laid back kind of a guy, he didn't want to get into complicated feelings and all that crap, but that didn't mean they didn't exist.

Lately it was like his whole world was changing, and it had all started the day he asked Mac to be his tutor. She was just different to any girl he'd ever met, as cool to hang out with as any guy friend, and somehow as cute and sexy as any woman he'd craved to touch. A multitude of reasons stopped him actually making a move, the greatest of which were his friends and Mac herself.

The 09er guys would not get what he saw in a computer geek, and whilst Dick ought to be strong enough to stand up and say he could date whoever he wanted and didn't care what they thought, he couldn't. Peer pressure was a bitch, and so much of what Dick said and did was because others were doing it too. Trend-setting was not so much his thing, running with the pack was more his style. Psych 101 would say he was looking for acceptance because he found none at home, an absentee mother, workaholic father, and genius brother that he never got to see making for a sad and lonely Dick. His friends had no idea, and he never told them, just laughed and drank and surfed and acted like he cared about nothing but these activities, and of course nailing hot chicks. As it was, the guys had assumed his declaring to date Mac was a joke and/or part of a speech to knock Madison down a notch. They never considered for a moment that Dick had meant those words he said, and just because it was easier, he let them go on believing it was all a big joke.

The trouble was, for once in his life, Dick wasn't joking, not about Mac, not about how he felt about her. It scared him half to death that he was losing control, proven by Friday night when he'd come so close to kissing her. She'd be horrified and he knew it, to think a guy like him would want her. She was a brain, way too smart to get mixed up with an 09er who had the reputation of the young Mr Casablancas. If she ever knew he liked her that way, he wouldn't even have her as a tutor or a friend anymore, and that he could not bear.

"Earth to Dick!" Mac snapped her fingers in front of his face, making the blond realise that his thoughts had completely distracted him - he hadn't heard a word she'd said for fully five minutes.

"I'm sorry" he said, shaking his head til his brain got back into gear.

"No problem" came the immediate response from his tutor as she took a breath and began her explanation again, "So, what I was saying was..."

"No" he interrupted her, making Mac jump just a little as she glanced up from the text book to his eyes that looked much more troubled than usual, "I don't mean sorry for the zoning. I mean... sorry I ran out Friday without telling you why" he explained, making something flip over inside Mac's chest.

He looked like a little lost puppy, so afraid he'd done something to upset his master. It was beyond cute and yet Mac was as sure it was entirely genuine, something not normally associated with the 09er guys who played girls like fiddles to get what they wanted, or so Mac had heard.

"I was going to ask about that but..." she started to say, realising there was no way for her to finish that sentence without making a complete fool out of herself.

Dick did not need to hear the thoughts that had been rolling around in her head the past two days, it wouldn't help matters, and they'd probably both end up looking and feeling equally a stupid as each other.

"Yeah, I, er, I got a call on my cell, I just... I had to go" he explained cryptically, "So, sorry about that" he said, as his eyes went from hers to the text book in a second and he cleared his throat, hoping the moment would pass without too much fuss being made.

"Okay" Mac nodded once as she realised she hadn't really got an explanation, but obviously there wasn't going to be one without her pushing her nose into what must be his private business.

The whole almost-kiss thing was clearly to be swept under the carpet, something the pair were both grateful for in a lot of ways. Still, the uncomfortable silence that settled in proved it was on both their minds right now.

"So, we're still friends, right?" Dick asked, though he never looked at Mac at all.

"Sure" she nodded, "It's no big" she shrugged, concentrating as hard on the table as he was but not seeing any words written on the books and paper spread around.

Glancing her way, he allowed himself a smile, deciding if she felt as weird about all this as he did that was at least one good thing.

"Cool" he said, as she glanced sideways at him and returned his smile, "'Cause y'know if we stopped being friends right now, that'd really suck" he said definitely, "Just because, y'know its my Birthday next week and I totally wouldn't get a gift" he teased her, earning himself a smack in the arm for his trouble, and an oddly girlish giggle that was music to his ears.

For now it seemed the Mac/Dick friendship had been salvaged, but beneath the smiles and friendly teasing something much deeper lurked in both of them. It was as if a time-bomb had begun ticking at some point Friday night in Mac's bedroom, and they both knew an explosion was imminent. Whether it would lead to glory or destruction, neither was sure, but something was bound to happen before too long.

To Be Continued...